A common dilemma I get called about frequently is what to do when an arrest warrant is issued for you in Idaho, but you live in another state.
This occurs under a couple different scenarios. Some Defendant’s get placed on probation in Idaho, and receive a probation violation either before or after leaving Idaho. A warrant is issued for the Defendant’s arrest. The other example is when someone obtains a new criminal charge and then leaves the State of Idaho after being charged and fails to appear for their next court date.
Will they arrest me out of State on the warrant?
The first question people have is, will I be arrested on the warrant while I am out of Idaho. If it is a felony warrant then they probably will arrest you out of Idaho. I have seen a few cases where Idaho issued a warrant that will only be served in Idaho. Other times, Idaho decided not to pay for the transport back to Idaho after the Defendant is arrested out Idaho, so the other State lets the Defendant go. This is usually because the felony is a relatively minor offense. The State does not want to waste resources on it. Also sometimes Idaho will allow you to post bond on the warrant out of State. That way you will not have to be transported to Idaho to post bond.
On the other hand, if it is a misdemeanor, Idaho rarely (if ever) issues an interstate warrant for misdemeanors. I have never seen a misdemeanor warrant issued out of State. I hesitate to say it never happens because there is no law I know of that says it cannot be done.
You do not want to take the position that you can just avoid Idaho for the rest of your life and never have the warrant cause you problems. Having a warrant out of Idaho can still effect you out of State, even if you never get served with the warrant. For example potential employers will see the warrant show up on a back ground check. It can disqualify you from certain benefits. One way or another the warrant will come back to haunt you. Time and time again I get phone calls from people with pending misdemeanor warrants that feel the negative effects of a warrant. It is better to take care of it now, rather than face the music later.
Is there a way to handle the case without making the trip back to Idaho?
Another issue I run into frequently is that my client wants to take care of the warrant, but does not want to drive all the way to Idaho to take care of something minor like a driving without privileges warrant, or an inattentive driving ticket. If the warrant is for a felony, the answer is easy, yes you have to come back, no exceptions.
If it is a misdemeanor, you may not have to. There are ways of taking care of these warrants without returning to Idaho, although there are no guaranteed methods. One possibility is making a motion to the court to allow you to appear by counsel. What this means is you will not have to appear in court as long as your attorney appears in your behalf. The granting of these motions is discretionary with the court. Your attorney will have to convince the court to allow this, but it can be done.
Another possibility is that your attorney can make a motion to quash the warrant. This won’t necessarily make it so you never have to return, but it could help you avoid returning just to turn yourself in on the warrant and bond right out. You may still have to appear for your court date, but this saves you multiple trips to Idaho.
What happens to my driver’s license after a DUI?
I need to know that you can eliminate this traffic misdemeanor that I received which has caused me much stress and loss of work since 5/25/19. On 5/25/19 I was driving my shift as a CDL class A Permit driver (NC) around 11:30 a.m. through the state of Idaho while my instructor was in the back cab on the phone. I was not breaking any speed limit law or anything but yet was pulled by a sheriff who I felt was demonstrating an overuse of her authority quite frankly. She accused me and my driver that our cab smelled funny and then accused me for looking tired and insinuated that I was on something because my eyes were red. I was quite hurt by this since none of it was true and I take this CDL very seriously. I woke up after 8 hours of sleep and my eyes that are blue are quite sensitive to airborne pollegens. She continued to ask me how long my trainer and I have been together and when I told her we were engaged she wanted to know how we met and everything. She then took both of our logs and licenses and ran them. This is where it gets complicated. She returned back to tell me that my FL license came up suspended and that would put me out of service until it is corrected. I was surprised to hear this since I had moved from FL in 7/19, got NC ins, sent my FL plate back, alerted them that I did not live in FL and in 11/19 got a new NC drivers license with proof of my new address on it. Ever since returning back from our OTR trip I have been either on the phone with the ADA in Idaho, on the phone with the FL DMV or the NC DMV and have been given the run around on so many occassions and on hold for most of the day. I have faxed all of them due to their poor communication in hopes to have them communicate with me. I have written a letter to the judge and faxed it to the clerk of court in Idaho the day before my court date 6/14/19 which I just recieved back in the mail as DENIED. The answers I did get from the ADA was that if I can prove that my FL license was not suspended before 5/25/19 then they would reduce or drop the charge. FL DMV says that they cannot do that because it was only just now brought to their attention by me in the first place and therefore it cannot be altered. They, the FL DMV also said that if I could fax my NC License to them they would expire or invalidate my FL license and they also stated that if NC DMV had alerted FL DMV of when I had gotten my NC license that this would never have happened in the first place. So naturally I reached out to the NC DMV about this and they said that it is not procedure that they have to alert any state. I feel that I have been injusticely treated and caught in the middle of two govt. agencies that perhaps didn’t process their information in to their systems or follow through accordingly as they should have. Meanwhile I am broke due to not being able to drive with a clear concious especially since our trips involve driving through IDAHO. I am a mother of two fabulous kids, one 20 yr old daughter attending a community college and a 25 yr old son who proudly serves our country and is deployed currently and is expecting his first baby this August. I have very little support and I am very scared and worried. I am a decent and loving law abiding person who had some over zealous sheriff go out of her way to really stink things up for me. I can’t seem to do this on my own and I need this resolved. Is there anyway you can help me out?
Leslie Starner
Leslie,
I’m sorry for the late response. I imagine (and hope) you have resolved this case by now. It’s a very complicated issue, and I am well aware of the messes that are caused by trying to work with multiple agencies and getting them on the same page. I’ve fixed these issues before, so if you still need help, call me. 208-571-0627.
My husband has a warrant from 2011 from Driving without privileges and paraphernalia, he bailed out and because he lives out of state he never went back. He now has a bench warrant and according to the court clerk the only way to settle it is to either appear again several times or consult a lawyer and see if they can quash it on there own. We are just wondering how much this would end up costing if we go the lawyer route.
I’m sorry for responding late to this comment, I just became aware of these comments on my site and I’m responding. Costs for criminal cases vary greatly depending on the circumstances and complexity of the case. Call my office today for a free consultation. We will be able to give you a quote after getting all the information from you. 208-571-0627.
Sorry for the late response. Call us and we will see what we can do to resolve your case. The initial consultation is free. 208-571-0627.
Hi there, I live in the UK and have an outstanding warrant from many years ago for failing to appear. I think I’m to serve 2 days and pay fines.
I think this is my case ref:
CR-MD-2006-0008317-01-3
I want to get this cleared from here so I can travel to New York with my wife. Can you help with some advice please?
Sorry for the late response, I hired a new moderator for my site, and he brought these comments to my attention. I could help you with your case if you still need help. Call me and we will see what we can do. 208-571-0627.
With the covid-19 stuff going on. Would this be a good time to turn yourself in?
I apologize for the late response, these comments were just sent to me. Now probably would be a good time to try and resolve your case because the courts are bogged down. The State is probably more willing to resolve your case favorably than they normally would be.